Non-Japanese TV Shows (broadcast, cable, etc.)

Expanding my world view.

I've gotten hooked on a couple of "foreign" Detective shows.

(For some odd reason I don't really consider American/Canadian/British/Japanese/or Korean shows "foreign" anymore.)

Anyway... I watched Kenneth Branagh's version of the "Wallender" Detective series when they came out on PBS... and I liked them enough to go out and find a few episodes of the original Swedish series featuring Krister Henriksson as Wallender. And I really liked them as well. They were very different. Close to, but not quite, a whole different character. And I think both versions of "Wallender" are well worth watching... for those of us who like Detective stories. (Especially the British Detective fans.) Like most of his British counterparts, Wallender has issues in his private life, and they do tend to spill over into his professional life. And that tends to make the "puzzle" much more interesting.

Which brings me to "Detective Inspector: Irene Huss". Ooooo, I like this one. Angela Kovacs (Irene Huss) was actually a regular cast member in the first few Wallenders... and then they gave her her own show. And from what I've read, it's been a major ratings hit in Sweden, and across most of Europe ever since it first aired in 2007.

Inspector Huss is one tough cop... she's also the wife of a successful Chef, and the mother of two teen aged daughters... daughters who are in the process of rebelling against authority... just as Mom is out kicking ass, taking names... and trying to make everything at home seem normal and safe.

Good show. I'm getting an episode every two or three weeks on one of the PBS stations here in Northern California and I hope they keep it up. I really want to see more, and Netflix is very short on Huss.

I am catching up with the HBO series Game of Thrones. The lady I'm dating surprised me by telling me she's a fan of this fantasy series.

Itazura ichiban

I thought Game of Thrones was terrific. Amazing group of actors, great production values, and if you like the genre (which I do) a very good story line.

My only problem with the show is that it ended way too soon... and it's gonna be too long before the next installments come out.

Geezer wrote:Expanding my world view.

I've gotten hooked on a couple of "foreign" Detective shows.

Would you by any chance have checked out Danish cop show The Killing (Danish title Forbrydelsen)? It's all the rage over here but I am reluctant to invest in the DVDs.

Esther

Oh my goodness! The Danes have television? You learn something new every day.

Nope, I haven't checked out "The Killing", but the title struck a chord, so I did some surfing, and son of a gun, I have been hearing about the show. It turns out one of the cable stations here (AMC) bought the rights to the show from the company in Denmark, and the American version of "The Killing" (filmed in Canada, of course) has been airing here for a while. I even watched a few minutes of one of the early episodes, but it seemed sort of bleak to me, so I wandered off.

The show's been getting very positive response here, and a couple of my friends who are fans have told me to suffer through the slow beginning and stick with it, because they really like the show.

Hmm. I just checked and I have access to the first two episodes on "on demand". I'll take a look and tell you if it makes me want to see the Danish version.

Update on "The Killing" (American/Canadian version)

The show's title is, "The Killing". Then, as if written in blood across the cover of the DVD Box they ask the question: Who Killed Rosie Larson?

My answer after watching two episodes... I don't care.

Granted, it's not the original Danish version... and I only watched two episodes. But my only review is, I really don't care who killed her, because two episodes in and I have very little idea who the heck "Rosie Larson" was.

I don't care about the cops who are trying to solve the case.

I don't care about Rosie's family.

And I so far I don't really care about the people who are being trotted out as suspects.

I'll watch some more, when they become available... mostly because they are free. But if it doesn't pick up soon... I can't see sticking with it through the whole series.

Geezer wrote:Itazura ichiban

I thought Game of Thrones was terrific. Amazing group of actors, great production values, and if you like the genre (which I do) a very good story line.

My only problem with the show is that it ended way too soon... and it's gonna be too long before the next installments come out.

Geezer, that'll give me some time to catch up. :)

Geezer wrote:Update on "The Killing" (American/Canadian version)

Thanks for the little review of the first episodes! I think the most sensible thing to do is to borrow the first episodes on disk from friends.
Let us know if it managed to retain your interest at all.

Now Games of throne sounds really interesting - it's not available at all here in Europe but I keep on looking for it.

Caught a bit of an old (1968) episode of Hawaii Five-O: Ricardo Montalban as a Japanese crime boss named Tokura... Complete with an eye job and bogus accent. :shakehead:

Watching the first season of Yes, Minister. Very smart and funny of course, but it's got a lot more than I remembered. Only caught a few minutes here and there on TV in the past, I thought the whole series only had the 3 main characters, and revolved around Humphrey outwitting/controlling Hacker, but it's shown different dynamics already in the first 5 episodes. Great show... Any more like it? Would be great if there were.

xploring wrote:Watching the first season of Yes, Minister. Very smart and funny of course, but it's got a lot more than I remembered. Only caught a few minutes here and there on TV in the past, I thought the whole series only had the 3 main characters, and revolved around Humphrey outwitting/controlling Hacker, but it's shown different dynamics already in the first 5 episodes. Great show... Any more like it? Would be great if there were.

I tried watching this series, but I never really got into it and stopped after only a couple of episodes. Maybe if I had been more patient and persistent . . . but truthfully I've never been attracted to British sitcoms. British crime series on the other hand . . . .

That said, maybe a series like Rumpole of the Bailey might interest you. It aired at the same time as Yes, Minister, and while it doesn't take place in the halls of government, it is set in another venerable British institution, the Bailey (central criminal court). It's not a sitcom, but it does have a sharp satirical edge to it.

I suppose the dorama equivalent of Yes, Minister might be Sori to Yobanaide (Farewell Mr. Premier). Scripted by Mitani Koki with a pretty good cast headed by Tamura Masakazu, Suzuki Honami, and Nishimura Masahiko.

Getting excited that the new season of Top Shot is about to start. My husband and I are both hooked. :beaten:

bmwracer wrote:Caught a bit of an old (1968) episode of Hawaii Five-O: Ricardo Montalban as a Japanese crime boss named Tokura... Complete with an eye job and bogus accent. :shakehead:

how does it compare to micky rooney in 'breakfast at tiffanys'?

kenjilina wrote:how does it compare to micky rooney in 'breakfast at tiffanys'?

It's not that bad...

Picture a Hispanic with a Japanese accent... Is he supposed to be Alberto Fujimori or something? :beaten:

I remember 'Yes Minister' and loved it as a series. I think there were a couple of them. Also around the same time there was a Parliamentary mystery drama called 'House of Cards' I think that was the name.
This brought in all the machinations of the ruling class plus a murder plus a really good cast. I'd like them to play this one again and I would watch.

I am trying to watch the present series called 'Doc Martin'. To be honest I have been concentrating so much on Asian stuff that I now find it very difficult to understand English when it takes on any local accent. It has a good cast with actors who are obviously theatre trained and the Doc and his aunt are interesting roles. Must say the southern English coastal area has some quirky characters...at least in this drama

bmwracer wrote:Caught a bit of an old (1968) episode of Hawaii Five-O: Ricardo Montalban as a Japanese crime boss named Tokura... Complete with an eye job and bogus accent. :shakehead:

This was not the first time Montalban portrayed a Japanese character. Years earlier he played a Japanese in the Marlon Brando film Sayonara.

Brando himself played an Okinawan in the movie Teahouse of the August Moon.

Alec Guiness and Yul Brynner were two other very famous actors who portrayed Japanese characters in film.

And, as an example that it's not just a one-way street, Mifune Toshiro once portrayed a Mexican in a movie.

A bit of trivia re: the original Hawaii Five-O--remember Wo Fat, the arch nemisis of Steve McGarrett? He was played by an actor named Keigh Deigh who wasn't anywhere close to being an Asian (his real name was Kenneth Dickerson).

brad2 wrote: Also around the same time there was a Parliamentary mystery drama called 'House of Cards' I think that was the name.

I remember this series. Ian Richardson turned in an excellent performance as the main character, playing an amoral duplicitous politician.

brad2 wrote:I am trying to watch the present series called 'Doc Martin'. To be honest I have been concentrating so much on Asian stuff that I now find it very difficult to understand English when it takes on any local accent. It has a good cast with actors who are obviously theatre trained and the Doc and his aunt are interesting roles. Must say the southern English coastal area has some quirky characters...at least in this drama

I've been watching this series off and on for the past year (via the Netflix streaming site). I like it a lot; it reminds me both in tone and situation of the American TV series Northern Exposure.

shin2 wrote:A bit of trivia re: the original Hawaii Five-O--remember Wo Fat, the arch nemisis of Steve McGarrett? He was played by an actor named Keigh Deigh who wasn't anywhere close to being an Asian (his real name was Kenneth Dickerson).

And he was from New Jersey, according to Wiki. :nut:

bmwracer wrote:
And he was from New Jersey, according to Wiki. :nut:

Yep. He's even on the list of "Notable People Born and Raised in New Jersey"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_from_New_Jersey


I looked up his resume on IMBD. For a non-Asian, almost all the roles he played were Asian characters. Talk about being typecast.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0223556/

shin2 wrote:For a non-Asian, almost all the roles he played were Asian characters. Talk about being typecast.

You could make the same claim for Sidney Toler and Warner Oland: they were best know for playing Charlie Chan.